Specialist or not, you choose............my 2nd poll ;-)

[mattley23]

Thanks to all of you that voted on my poll, but I have 1 more question to ask.

Judging from the replys alot of you would opt for a conversion of some sort (garage or loft etc)

So if you were activly seeking somone to carry out a conversion would you call a specialist in the field or a general builder?

[dcraigdc]

If the service was offered then I would assume (maybe wrongly so) a specialist would do a better job. However, if that specialist was then going to charge double the price to do the job, I'd go for the general builder.

All depends on the costs.

[mattley23]

Yeah for sure, some specialist seem to have a stigma attached to them for charging above average fees just becauise they are specialists!

[Joanne_UK]

it's funny that you ask that question because I am currently in the process of have a house extension built...

At the moment the architect is drawing the plans so I still have to wait for them and than start shopping for quotes...

I will certainly ask quotes from house extension specialists but I will also ask people (general builders) that have been recommended to us.

We are trying to find the best price/quality (it will be quite a big extension) and depending of the price we will probably end up using people we know (friends or friends of friends that are : brick layers, roofers, electricien, plasterer..etc..it would probably be cheaper that way but we will need to plan things more)

[Astaroth]

Whilst I have to admit to knowing next to nothing about building work I would have to "question" if there are any special skills for doing conversions over general building. I may be wrong but the gut reaction would be to say that there are less skills involved than general builders would need and personally I may be a little concerned over the skills of a specialist - esp if they were to hit unexpected problems.

In reality I would probably get quotes from both and go for a combination of price and how I got on with them.

[mattley23]

Astaroth,

Specialist within the building trade (loft conversions, garage conversions) usually coime from the general building industry meaning they have a wealth of experience in most trades. They usual see a niche in the market and focus solely on that service.

In as far as 'special skills' then no there arent any that differ from a general builder to be honest its just that specialists do nothing but 1 type of work meaning they are usualy more proficiant at that particular job.

For example, if you were going to have UPVC double glazing installed 99% of people would call a double glazing company and not a general builder. However windowns and doors are probably one of the easist home improvement to do and any general builder can carry out these services to just as high standard as any UPVC fitting company if not better.

See where im coming from?

[mattley23]

Wow, 125 views and only 7 votes!

Common people just pick an option

[Coding Monkey]

<plug>
I would call a good client of mine, Space Solutions (http://space-solutions.co.uk)
</plug>

[mattley23]

Yeah I know that company, dont know the owners but am familiar with the business

Nice website too

[Andriy]

Very interesting poll. I would be interested how people choose builders. I am disagree in some way that specialist would do better job then general builder. First of all who are those general builders and what they do? Most of the builders do they work as it been dreamed by client and designed by architect. So basically they either know how to do it, or they don't. Main point to look at is how builders organise they work, they ethic, how they respond to the problems etc. The meaning of general building is that they can respond to any building job within they own range. That's mean the company would have specialist with great building knowledge and people with special knowledge as bricklayer, plasterer, electrician, plumber etc. Very likely they would have the team that mostly do one type of building work such as loft conversion or basements.

I would say within building industry matter of trust greater concern then who doing better job. It vital to avoid builder who is there for a quick buck. I have done plenty of work where people opt for a cheaper quote and after job has been completed they has been told by the building inspector that it has to be redone or taken down.

[Coding Monkey]

Nice website too

Thanks ;)

[mattley23]

Very interesting poll. I would be interested how people choose builders. I am disagree in some way that specialist would do better job then general builder. First of all who are those general builders and what they do? Most of the builders do they work as it been dreamed by client and designed by architect. So basically they either know how to do it, or they don't. Main point to look at is how builders organise they work, they ethic, how they respond to the problems etc. The meaning of general building is that they can respond to any building job within they own range. That's mean the company would have specialist with great building knowledge and people with special knowledge as bricklayer, plasterer, electrician, plumber etc. Very likely they would have the team that mostly do one type of building work such as loft conversion or basements.

I would say within building industry matter of trust greater concern then who doing better job. It vital to avoid builder who is there for a quick buck. I have done plenty of work where people opt for a cheaper quote and after job has been completed they has been told by the building inspector that it has to be redone or taken down.

Andriy,

Specialists with the building trade usually come from the general buulding industry to be honest so have exactly the same skills as any general builder. The thing is with a 'specialist' is that they do nothing but 1 type of work meaning they are much more focused and proficiant than a general builder who usualy do a 'bit of this and a bit of that'. Skills arent in question as someone with a lack of building skills wouldnt really be able to set up as a specialists in the feild.

I do agree that its all about trust too, people will choose either someone recommended to them or someone they feel they can trust becuase of the rogue trader aspect of the industry.

Thanks for your inpuit though

[Hedgehog Toys]

hmmm interesting what you guys look at...

No.1 - Most genuine good builders will be able to do a loft or garage conversion just as easily and to as good a standard as a 'specialist'.
No.2 - You will probably find that you will pay more for the 'specialist'.
No.3 - Most 'specialists' only call themselves specialists because they have done lots of loft conversions and consider this to be their niche market. In reality neither is any better than the other.

The important thing is to find a reputable builder / specialist and get at least 3 different quotes. Also ask to see any jobs they have completed recently.

I am an Architectural Technician so I encounter these things on daily basis. :D :D :D

[mattley23]

hmmm interesting what you guys look at...

No.1 - Most genuine good builders will be able to do a loft or garage conversion just as easily and to as good a standard as a 'specialist'.
No.2 - You will probably find that you will pay more for the 'specialist'.
No.3 - Most 'specialists' only call themselves specialists because they have done lots of loft conversions and consider this to be their niche market. In reality neither is any better than the other.

The important thing is to find a reputable builder / specialist and get at least 3 different quotes. Also ask to see any jobs they have completed recently.

I am an Architectural Technician so I encounter these things on daily basis. :D :D :D

I can see where your coming from but dont 100% agree with you mate. Ive been in the building trade for around 12 years now and see it from a tradesman and customer point of view.

A general builder on a day to day basis will be doing a bit of every trade and will usually spread his experience across a number of services: Roofing, kitchens, bathrooms, extensions, UPVC work (windows conservatories etc), ground work, driveways, garden work etc etc

Now a 'specialist' will take 1 of those areas and concentrate on it 100% meaning their level of service will 9 times out of 10 be better, not because general builders cut corners just becuase they do it day in day out..

Another example, a few builder collegues of mine can plaster and probably pick up the trowel and hawk 4 or 5 times a month when their general building jobs dicate where as Im a plasterer by trade and use to do it pretty much all the time, now by no fault of their own my plastering is far superior because I did it day in day out.

This goes for larger scale examples too, loft conversion specialists are always better at doing their job that a general builder who may get 1 or 2 a year. Not because the builder is sloppy but becuase the loft conversion specialist does it every day of every year so he know all the little things that make a loft conversion look better.

Dont get me wrong, hire a general builder for something like a loft or garage conversion and you'll get a good job done, but hire a specialist and it will generally be done to a better standard. Yes sometimes you do pay a preimium for this service but honestly I dont think you should.